11th Dec 2025 09:35
(Alliance News) - Outgoing GSK PLC Chief Executive Officer Emma Walmsley has said the US is the best place to invest, in the latest blow to Britain's pharmaceutical sector, after a raft of drugs firms have scrapped or paused plans to invest in the UK.
Walmsley, who is leaving in January after leading London-based GSK as chief executive for the past eight years, told the BBC she would not "shy away" from the firm's plans to invest in the US, which she said was "still the leading market in the world in terms of the launches of new drugs and vaccines".
Alongside China, it is the "best market in the world to do business development", she added.
GSK announced in September it would invest USD30 billion in the US over the next five years, which came amid pressure from US President Donald Trump as he stepped up his trade tariff war, and industry frustration over how much the NHS pays for medicines.
New Jersey-based Merck & Co Inc and Cambridge, England-based AstraZeneca PLC have also cancelled or paused investments in the UK in recent months.
But Walmsley welcomed the recent UK-US tariff deal, which will mean zero tariffs on imports of UK pharmaceuticals to the US in return for the NHS raising spending on medicines.
The UK's threshold for what it can pay for new medicines will be raised by 25%, meaning some drugs that would have been declined as too costly can be approved, such as breakthrough cancer treatments and therapies for rare diseases.
The agreement also includes capping repayment rates on NHS drug prices at 15% for the first three years of the deal.
Walmsley said the tariff deal was a "step in the right direction" for the UK, and the NHS element would encourage innovation in research and development.
The deal followed warnings that US pharma firms would shut down their sites in the UK if the NHS did not pay more for drugs.
US ambassador Warren Stephens recently said more US businesses would axe future investments if "there are not changes made and fast".
The row has been seen as a reason why US firm Merck, known as MSD in Europe, ditched a planned GBP1 billion site in London's Kings Cross, which had been due to open in 2027.
AstraZeneca also recently announced plans to invest USD50 billion in the US over the next five years, while also pausing plans to invest GBP200 million at a Cambridge research site.
GSK shares rose 0.3% to 1,808.14 pence each on Thursday morning in London.
By Holly Williams, Press Association Business Editor
Press Association: Finance
source: PA
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